Happy Fall, y’all! It hasn’t felt much like Fall — Summer is still camping out here in Pennsylvania. A few Fall days here and there but definitely still on the warm side here. I’ve been LOVING doing Fall things with Riley — last year she was an itty bitty baby and it’s fun to watch her to explore things.
Photo Captured This Month
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5 Things About My Life This Month
1. We went to Rochester for a week: Will had training for a week in Rochester, NY so we decided Riley and I would go with. It was her first time in a hotel and she LOVED hotel life — a little Eloise. We did a lot of exploring solo and, while it was challenging, it was really fun. My favorite thing was the Strong Museum of Play — it was SO AWESOME. Highly rec. I also got to see my little sister who lives up there so that was really nice.
2. We went to a Fall Festival — Last year we to the same one at a small local farm but Riley was only a few months old so we went to the same one this year and it was SO much more fun. I just love watching her discover things — she is smitten with pumpkins lol! Loving all the Fall fun we are going to have!
This year
Last year
3. I started doing some social media freelancing: I went out on a scary limb and I’m currently doing freelance social media for a local business and I just got another client to help with Instagram strategy and teaching the client how to use it fully to build their brand. I’m really excited! I did social media for work and obviously with blogging and I’m excited to do some work while I stay at home with Riley.
4. We went to a few new breweries in the area: Lots of brewery hopping this month both at home and while we were on vacation.
5. I started using my new library : My library card had expired and then we moved so I finally got around to renewing it and using my new library. It’s a lot smaller than I’m used to (thank god for interloan library system) and there isn’t as much offered compared to my old ones but I’ve really enjoyed the storytime we started going to in September and I have found all the librarians to be super nice and helpful.
6 Songs I Loved This Month
I put all my Monthly Rewinds in a Spotify playlist so you can listen to them here !
1. Baby Don’t Talk — LEON
2. Gloria — Henry Jamison
3. Shrike — Hozier
4. Black & Blue — Savoir Adore
5. Sad (Clap Your Hands) – Young Rising Sons
6. Churchyard — AURORA
Check out the rest of my September playlist for more of what I was listening to this month!
Books I Read This Month
I only read 4 books this month — really busy month!
1. Gilead by Marilynn Robinson: I hated this book. I know it’s hailed as a masterpiece or whatever but BLAH. I was so bored and should have quit but I thought maybe it would click with me considering everyone says it is so wonderful. Some of my favorite books are slower books so that wasn’t entirely off-putting to me….but it just bored me to tears. I didn’t really enjoy it.
2. The Darkest Mind by Alexandra Bracken: Finally started this series. I FLEW through this book!
3. Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken: Continued on with the series! Also flew through this one! Exactly what I needed right now.
4. Next Year In Havana by Chanel Cleeton: I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. Such a good family story with a vivid setting of Cuba — during the Revolution as well as present day after Fidel died. So excited that one of the other characters will have a book about them coming out next year!!
Favorite Quote This Month
“This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it.”
― Gilead
5 Most Popular Posts This Month
I’ve failed at posting lately. Our trip got me a little behind and I kind of just gave up trying to get work done and then I got overwhelmed so I only posted 3 times this month and one of those was my August recap.
I posted about:
What I’ve Been Reading Lately : I haven’t been great about sharing what I’ve been reading lately! Definitely check it out and see what I’ve been reading.
Autumn Vibes Reading List: If you are in need of a good Fall read! Check out this list!
Post I Wish Got More Love
Nothing!
5 Posts Starred In My Blog Reader This Month
1. 2 Perfectionist Tips That Will Free Up Your Time, Brain and Energy : 2 really great tips I’m going to try to implement!
2. InstantPot Chili With Butternut Squash: ALL THE CHILI THIS MONTH!!
3. Why Am I So Afraid of Conflict?: A Therapist Weighs In: Super interesting read!
4. 5 Lessons Learned From Starting Over: Good read!
5. 31 Cozy Recipes To Make This Fall: YES PLEASE
3 New Obsessions This Month
1. My new joggers from Old Navy: They were having a 50% off sale on their athletic wear and I am all about that athleisure life right now while I chase around a toddler and these were my fave out of what I got!! They are SOOOOOO comfy and fit me great! I also got these leggings and I am LOVING the little mesh details plus just a couple pairs of basic leggings.
2. Trello: I’ve been getting my life together with Trello. I still love Evernote but I’m still playing with what I want to use each for.
3. Mindset work: Y’all I have been working on my mindset lately. This seems like a weird “obsession” to list but I have been going hard on my mindset and changing it lately because I’ve been having a hard season.
3 Things I’m Looking Forward To Next Month
Question Of The Month
What are your favorite Fall recipes??
Please share I need yummy Fall recipes!
Pick a category (or 5… or all of them) and tell me what went on in YOUR life this month!! What sort of things were noteworthy for you this month? New obsessions? Any new song recs?? Best books you read this month? Great posts I missed on your blog? Answer to my question of the month?
Torrie says
Yay for you starting your own book club! I didn’t join a book club until I moved to my current home a year ago, and it has been the BEST thing for me! (I also can relate to the moving-to-a-smaller-library problem—I never realized how much I took living by bigger libraries for granted! Luckily for me, my card for my old one hasn’t expired and I still live close enough to go occasionally, so that’s how I get a lot of my books, ha ha.)
That’s awesome that you’ve been doing some social media freelancing—what a great at-home gig!
Jamie says
EEEE I’m so excited! I was in THREE book clubs before Riley was born and I miss it so much. I need some sort of social outlet.
And oh man — I’ve had such a hard time with my new library. I just miss all the awesomeness of my old one. Just even with the programs they offer for kids. It’s still a nice little small town library but not what I’m used to.
Gaby says
So cool that you created a book club! I’d love to find one on my city.
Jamie says
I’m SO nervous having all sorts of “what if nobody likes me???” feelings already. Check out Forever Young Adult…they have book clubs on their site. That’s how I created my first one. Maybe they will have an existing one in your city!
Meg says
Interlibrary loan is the best! NYPL has spoiled me, I always think our local library is too small, and it’s so great to have access to more books than would fit in the local branch.
Jamie says
It’s the BEST!!! I feel so lucky to have a good interloan system.
Alexandra says
Wow, Jamie, it sounds like you’ve been stepping out in bravery in a few things in your life in this last little while. That’s awesome that you’ve got some freelance social media work! And oh my goodness, maybe it’s just the photos, but Riley looks so TALL. That picture of her with the crate of apples is particularly cute. 🙂
Annemieke says
Great that you got to start a book club! I’m curious how you will find it.
Also I love those boots Riley wears.
Kyra says
Aw such lovely photos!
Also YAY for the new library. I love going to the library, and I completely agree that interlibrary loan is THE BEST.
Lil’ Pingwing says
My favourite fake recipe right now is turkey chili (https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-easy-turkey-chili-with-kale-recipes-from-the-kitchn-75630) because it is easy and I am tired. Hahaha.
I love the idea of starting a book club because it would be so nice to talk to people in person about books, but then I think I would just eventually quit once I had to start, you know, going outside and interacting with people.
Lil’ Pingwing says
Ugh. “Fall”, not “fake”
Gayathri says
Yay on your new book club. I have never been on a real life book club, ever. And I love Trello and Evernote both. They are perfect on their own things.
La La in the Library says
Do you have an electric instapot? I have always had an intense fear of pressure cookers (I think my mother’s fear of them stayed with me), so renaming them a cute name like “instapot” didn’t help me. Ha ha. If you do I’m curious how you like it. 🍜
I am so happy you like the Darkest Minds books! 📚
A tradition I started with my son in the fall when he was around three was Sebastian’s Stone Soup. We read the book and talked about putting different things in soup. The next time we went grocery shopping I had him pick out veggies and pasta to put in the soup. He loved it and ate some veggies he would never have eaten by themselves on a plate. He liked that we could make soup taste different with different ingredients, so I started making it with him once a week all through fall and winter. He would get super excited in the fall when it started getting chilly out and the first Stone Soup of the season was on the horizon. It’s still the only way to get him to eat carrots at 26 years old. Ha ha. When he got older (around six) we started looking up the nutrition of the different soup ingredients, thats when we also started adding things like barley and lentils, so it is also a teaching tool.
Jamie says
I don’t have an instapot! THEY SCARE ME TOO!! But everyone is so obsessed with them. I love my good ol’ trusty slow cooker haha
Linda says
One of my favorite recipes right now is the Chicken Marsala Meatballs from Smitten Kitchen Every Day. Also they have a Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette which is really good, but I’ve mostly made it for special occasions because it takes a while. But, everything takes me a while. And Chili! There’s a good recipe in Melissa Clark’s book Dinner, which I really like. Lots of great recipes in that book, actually – several takes on roast chicken that are super delish. Oh! Especially one that’s called something like Quick Roasted Chicken with mustard and something-or-other. That was super good and pretty quick and easy. Man, I love food….
Erica Robyn says
Awesome recap!! <3